Is this true? A murder at 8 pm at Kenny’s on main road

[M&G Montreal]

Kudos to the pros of Negril! We had just finished dinner at Brenda's on the Boulevard. The police came in, spoke to Brenda. Brenda had been told to close up and send her guests home. A friend of hers was there, and she told us he would take us back to our hotel. Not realizing the seriousness of the situation in that moment, we said we were OK and would walk or get a red plate. She said "No. You're going back now, and with my friend. He'll get you there quickly and safely. NOW." End of argument. When we got to the hotel, Pure Garden, the jerk chicken guy who is always there, made good and sure we went into the property quickly. Everything between PG and Brenda's had been closed. Sorry it happened, but as so many others have posted, it can happen anywhere. You're right, Rooster - we need to get our own back yards in order before we point fingers!

[phineasfreakears]

Great, I finally talked my wife into going back. We had just got home from our last reach in May 2016, when we heard about the murder of a tourist about 50 yards from where our room was up on the west end.Now I doubt I’ll ever get her to go back. You can say it can happen anywhere all you want, but we do not live in an environment where murders occur, so why would we want to go where they do? We are already booked for April, will have a hard time getting her to board the plane.

[HarryS]

A quick Google search allows you to discover statistics such as murder rate per capita. The numbers in relation to Jamaica are chilling. Let's not bury our heads in the sand here. This is a real problem and shouldn't be downplayed. Saying it's just as bad elsewhere, or that you're safer in JA than at home, is most likely not actually true.

[Accompong]

A quick Google search allows you to discover statistics such as murder rate per capita. The numbers in relation to Jamaica are chilling. Let's not bury our heads in the sand here. This is a real problem and shouldn't be downplayed. Saying it's just as bad elsewhere, or that you're safer in JA than at home, is most likely not actually true.

Crime (especially murders) are mainly a Jamaican on Jamaican or commonly referred to as "black on black" crime. As a tourist, you are mostly a protected species. Yes, a rare murder occurs involving a tourist but many of those are when a tourist gets involved in matters they shouldn't be involved with and in places they should not go.

Academic debating on who is safer and where is safer depends a lot on who you are and where you come from. From my vantage point of decades living and visiting in rural Jamaica, I feel safer there than in Palm Beach County Florida.

JMO

[NoWorries4 me]

Ok, I get it.if it’s a hit it’s all good and kosher. My bad.

No, it is not good! Like Rooster I also live just NW of Chicago and there's not a day that goes by where the news is not filled with shootings. So many times the victim is not the intended target but rather caught in the crossfire. Will I still go to Negril? Yes, but this desturbs me greatly. I used to go to Mexico regularly.... but no more do to the violence there. Something needs to be done in JA before it affects its tourism. I think of how many times I've been to Kenny's. This is hitting too close to home!

[JohnNYC]

I never said it was a good thing. My point is I personally don’t feel at risk because of it. This was not random and could’ve happened anywhere. I live in NYC where unfortunately murder is not too rare an occurrence. If someone was the victim of a targeted shooting at a certain location, it doesn’t mean I’ll avoid that location. The reason for the shooting wasn’t the location being a high risk place, it was the individual having an enemy finding him (or her) there.

[Rob]

I know the mother of the man who was shot and the last thing she would want would be for this to start grief for anyone.

The observation that this was a "hit" is an accurate observation. All the news stories were written from that perspective so the inference is natural.

Living here on a daily basis, discussion of such things using statistics puts a blind eye on the real concerns. Without knowledge of the who's and why's allows one to bury their head in the sand of their own preconceived bias.

The statistics mentioned above leave out a crucial point. The number of tourist related incidents is virtually non existent. To suggest otherwise is simply not true.

The single main reason is the lotto scam. And what fuels it is greed on both ends of the phone call. To combat the problem, serious consideration needs to be given to international prosecution on both ends for all parties involved.

[NoWorries4 me]

I never said it was a good thing. My point is I personally don’t feel at risk because of it. This was not random and could’ve happened anywhere. I live in NYC where unfortunately murder is not too rare an occurrence. If someone was the victim of a targeted shooting at a certain location, it doesn’t mean I’ll avoid that location. The reason for the shooting wasn’t the location being a high risk place, it was the individual having an enemy finding him (or her) there.

John.....I meant no offense to you. We both live in cities where crime is out of control. I just feel sorry for all of us as a society how desensitized we’ve become to shootings intended or not. I have visited Negril 2-3 x yr for many years. It is my paradise and escape. It makes me sad when stories like this come out. I’m hoping by expressing our concerns will push those who have an invested interest in Negril (both local and nation wide) to maybe figure out what needs to be done to preserve what we’ve all come to love. Not just for us as tourists but also for all the good people living there and the friends I’ve made. I know they’re already trying hard but they need to be reminded time to time of our concerns.

[Kold Ass Mofo]

John.....I meant no offense to you. We both live in cities where crime is out of control. I just feel sorry for all of us as a society how desensitized we’ve become to shootings intended or not. I have visited Negril 2-3 x yr for many years. It is my paradise and escape. It makes me sad when stories like this come out. I’m hoping by expressing our concerns will push those who have an invested interest in Negril (both local and nation wide) to maybe figure out what needs to be done to preserve what we’ve all come to love. Not just for us as tourists but also for all the good people living there and the friends I’ve made. I know they’re already trying hard but they need to be reminded time to time of our concerns.

The US gun manufacturers should be held accountable for the massive amount of handguns that are exported every year.

[Accompong]

The US gun manufacturers should be held accountable for the massive amount of handguns that are exported every year.

Living in close proximity to a failed country like Haiti where smugglers of drugs and stolen slaughtered meat from Jamaica meet smugglers of guns. This is how most guns get into Jamaica now.